Much of the technology behind the batteries that power electric vehicles and smartphones came from the U.S. Most batteries are made by Asian companies using materials produced in China.
Susan Babinec
is trying to put the U.S. in front again on batteries. She has been among the leading U.S. battery scientists for more than 20 years and believes cutting-edge science will make that happen. “Everyone knows what the stakes are,” Ms. Babinec said. As batteries become more sophisticated, “we’re playing to the United States’ strength. We are bad-ass scientists.”
Ms. Babinec has played key roles in the rise, fall and rise again of the U.S. battery industry. Currently a leader of battery research and development at Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago, Ms. Babinec holds more than 50 patents. She has done stints with the federal…